The Courage of an Elf
by willardanimalsrock
Summary: A good friend of Alasse comes to visit and learns some bad news and runs into deadly trouble while helping the king.
1. Attack

The Courage of an Elf Disclaimer: Most of the characters are Tolkien's so if you don't recognize someone then it's mine. The thoughts for now are in (...).   
(I wish I knew where I was going!)  
"What was that?" a she-elf gasped as she heard a noise.  
It was coming from up ahead. It sounded very much like a battle so she quickly but quietly urged her horse, Faiadin, forward saying, "Noro lim, Faiadin, noro lim.". She was just turning the corner when she saw a band of about twenty orcs attacking two elves that were only a little younger than herself in a small clearing. (noro lim- rid on)  
(I should help them; they are tired and injured and definitely do not deserve to die from a bunch of stupid yrchs! I'll hide Faiadin in the taur and shoot them from the alda.) (A/n: yrchs= orcs, taur- wood, alda- tree.)  
So she hid Faiadin and climbed a big oak tree and settled down on a branch overlooking the clearing. She then took out her bow and an arrow. The bow was silver and had dazzling designs on it. It was a wide, long, big arch with a fine string. The arrows were perfectly made and had beautiful light purple feathers. It was obvious that they were made by very skilled hands. She lined the arrow up with the bow and aimed for an ork's neck. She let go of the arrow and it hit it's mark with exact preciseness. The orks looked around startled, confusion and fear in their eyes as she continued to shoot the orcs. She didn't know who was more surprised, the orks or the two elves. As she reached for another arrow she found that her pouch was empty!  
"By the Valar! Why didn't I get more arrows before I left home?!" she moaned.  
There was only one thing left to do and that was to go in and fight. So she quietly jumped out of the tree and put her bow away. She braced herself then charged out, sword in hand. Once the orcs saw what had attacked them and what was going on the charged at the she-elf totally forgetting about the other elves. She had killed all but six though it seemed a lot more for she was taking them on alone.  
The two elves watched on in awe and then snapped into action. They quickly dashed up to get their swords and sprinted to aid the she-elf that was fighting off the orcs. One by one all the orcs were slain.  
"Thank you, we owe you our lives," one of them thanked, bowing down with a great deal of pain in the process.  
"Not a problem. May I ask how you got yourselves into that mess?" she questioned.  
"We help out the healers and they needed more of an herb so we said that we would get it," the other answered.  
"Did you get what you needed?" she asked.  
"Yes, although some was lost in the fight," the replied.  
"Okay then, we better get going," she announced.  
So they went to the horse, the elves only needing a little help walking there. The she-elf carefully helped them up onto the horse. Once they were settled in she lightly took some of his mane and clicked her tongue softly to Faiadin to make him walk forward.  
(They need to rest more than I do, I'll let them sit on the horse and I'll walk beside them.)  
All of a sudden they heard yelling coming from behind them. The she- elf turned to see another band of orcs running at full speed towards them. She whirled around and whispered into Faiadin's ear.  
"Make haste and go to the castle. A hoth of yrchs are rapidly approaching," she ordered. (hoth-host, horde.)  
The boys nodded and she sent Faiadin off, running like the wind saying, "Noro lim!" The she-elf turned and took one of the arrows that the boys had lent her and started shooting at the orcs. Once she was sure that the boys were far enough away she started to run. All of a sudden an arrow hit her in the leg and she staggered toward a tree and keeled over in pain. She spotted a vine and grabbed hold of it. Then she limped a few steps backward and swung on the vine. She leaped to another and another until there was no more to leap to.  
(Great! Now I will have to run and most likely get caught because of the arrow in my leg!)  
She jumped to the ground with agonizing pain when she landed. Then she dashed as fast as her hurt leg would let her. As she ran she felt a jab of pain as an arrow hit her shoulder. She kept running, though, ignoring the unbelievable pain.   
"Valandil! Valandil, come quick!" the boys yelled.  
"What is it?" Valandil asked in concern.  
"We...were...attacked...by yrchs! A girl...no, she-elf...helped us. She is fighting...off the hoth...of yrchs alone...right now!" they panted.  
Valandil didn't waste time. He hurriedly got together a team of warriors and dashed outside the palace gates. In front of them lay a she- elf sprawled out on the grass with three arrows in her. A band of orcs were running full speed only three yards away from them.  
"Cú up! Arrows ready! And... nâr!" Valandil called. (cú- bow, nâr- fire.)  
When the orcs were all dead Valandil turned his attention to the injured she-elf that lay before him. He knelt down and checked her pulse and found it to be just barely beating.  
"Get this girl to the healers now! She is close to her gurth! Make haste!" Valandil ordered as he went towards the King's chamber. (gurth- death) 


	2. Surprise

A/n: all /.../ are Thranduils thoughts. wonderful humming sound  
"Where am I?" the she-elf groaned.  
She tried to sit up but her body ached too much and she immediately lay back down. She moaned in pain as she tried to change positions on the bed.  
(I feel like I'm going to throw up!)  
"Shhh, its okay," a soft voice murmured, "Don't try to move, it will only hurt more."  
She opened her eyes and looked around. An older she-elf that she guessed was a healer was sitting in a chair next to her bed and a tall elf dressed in armor was standing by the door. She was a bit nervous of the elf by the door.  
"What is your name?" Valandil asked.  
"You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine," she demanded warily.  
  
"There is no need to worry, we are your mellons. My name is Valandil and I'm Thranduil's káno guard and this is Blainieal, the healer that patched you up," he explained. (mellon- friend, káno- commander.)  
"Well...okay, I'm Alandriel," she told them.  
"What brings you here to Mirkwood?" Valandil asked.  
"I came to see Alasse," Alandriel replied, "You see, we've been beleg mellons since we were híni he asked me to come see her new baby. Sorry I took so long, I live really far away." (beleg- mighty)  
"It took you fifteen days to get here?!" Valandil and Blainieal exclaimed together.  
"Twenty days, actually," she replied casually, as if it were nothing.  
"Well, King Thranduil will be in here to greet you shortly. I have to go now," Valandil announced sounding suddenly hurried as he left the room.  
"Did I do something wrong?" Alandriel asked, confused.  
"No, my darling," the healer soothed, "Go to sleep, you need your rest."   
"King Thranduil, the girl is cuivië," Valandil informed him. (cuivië- awakening)  
"Good, is she well enough for me to visit?" King Thranduil asked.  
"Yes," Valandil replied.  
"Alright then, thank you," Thranduil smiled.  
Valandil nodded and left. Thranduil smoothed out his yellow tunic and started towards the healing chambers.  
/I wonder what she's here for. /  
When Thranduil reached the chamber he knocked on the door and then opened it. Inside he saw a healer who he recognized as Blainieal and a woman that looked about the age of his wife, Alasse. He suddenly saddened at the thought of his wife.  
/Stop thinking of her, you need to move on. /  
He stepped in and closed the door. The woman had bandages on her shoulder, her left leg, and around her abdomen. She was in a deep sleep with Blainieal humming a lovely, soft melody to her.  
"How is she?" Thranduil asked softly as Blainieal looked up surprised, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."  
"I just didn't hear you come in. She's doing a lot better," she answered.  
"Can we wake her?" he asked. Blainieal nodded.  
Thranduil gently touched her left shoulder. Alandriel jolted upward as soon as Thranduil's finger tips touched her. She was ready for whatever danger awaited her.  
(OW! I shouldn't have moved so quickly!)  
"I'm sorry I scared you, I just wanted to talk to you," Thranduil apologized.  
"It's fine, it was just a reflex." she answered, lying back down, "You must be Thranduil, it is a pleasure. I'm Alandriel; Alasse has told me so much about you!"  
Thranduil stared wide eyed at her and a flash of surprise shown in his eyes, his face showed it, too.  
/How does she know my wife?! /  
As if reading his mind Alandriel told him, "We've been great mellons since we were little híni and she asked me to come up to see her new baby...Legolas, isn't it?"  
"Well I'm glad you could come. You must live very far away," Thranduil remarked, dazed.  
"Yeah, it took twenty days to get here," she informed him, "Where is Alasse, by the way?"  
"I have some bad news," Thranduil sighed, "Alasse was murdered fifteen days ago." 


	3. A Wonderful Gift

This chapter is dedicated to my great friend, Kendra, who moved today. A/n: sorry for any spelling mistakes. (I know Valandil's a human, but on fanfiction anything can happen. Actually to tell you the truth I didn't know until my dad told me!)   
"WHAT!" she screamed.  
Alandiel was shocked. She couldn't believe her best friend was dead.  
(It can't be true!)  
"Who did it?" she asked angrily, hatred burning in her eyes.  
"We don't know. We are trying very hard to find out," Thranduil sighed, trying as best he could not to break down himself.  
All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. They all jumped in surprise at the noise. Thranduil stared at the door, thinking it was the killers back to murder him. Alandriel was ready to jump up to fight herself if necessary. Blainieal opened it and started to talk to someone, but Alandriel couldn't see who. She stepped back and the two elves she had saved were standing in the door. They had obviously freshened up. One was wearing an emerald colored tunic with a gold trim. The other was wearing a light blue tunic with a silver trim. They came strolling in with a small rectangular box.  
"Are we interrupting?" one asked politely.  
"No, come in," Thranduil answered.  
"We won't stay an. We just want to thank you," the other told them. (an- long)  
"You're very welcome. It's not like I was going to let you get killed by yrchs!" she exclaimed, "What are your names anyway?"  
"My name is Eelie and this is my twin brother, Nionem," the taller one explained.  
"Nice to meet you! I'm Alandriel," Alandriel smiled, "How's your leg?"  
"It's feeling much better," Eelie smiled.  
"Wonderful, how about you?" she asked Nionem.  
"I'm feeling great!" he replied, "We have something for you."  
He reached over and grabbed the box he had set down on a table near the bed and handed it to her. Alandriel opened the box and saw an extremely lovely silver necklace with rubies, emeralds, and sapphires all along the sides and in the middle was a gorgeous, big crystal that was twisted and curved in beautiful designs. There was also a matching bracelet and matching earrings. Her mouth dropped open, awestricken, as she stared at the gift.  
"Oh, Elbereth!!!" she exclaimed, "This anna is way too much!" (anna- gift)  
"Of course not! You saved our lives! If you weren't there we wouldn't be standing here!" they told her.  
Eelie went up to Alandriel and carefully put the necklace on her. Then Nionem went up and put on the bracelet and then, very carefully, put the earrings on her. When they had put the jewelry on they handed her a mirror and stepped back. Alandriel stared in the mirror and softly caressed the beautiful necklace.  
"It's gorgeous!" she breathed, exasperated.  
"We're glad you like it!" Nionem laughed, "It looks great on you!"  
"It does look fantastic!" Thranduil complimented, "If you boys don't mind, though, I would like to speak with Alandriel alone."  
"Of course not," Eelie assured.  
The boys said goodbye to Alandiel and then to Thranduil and Blainieal. After that they strode out the door. Alandriel was still grinning at the mirror.  
"Since you were close to my wife, you wouldn't mind helping me take care of Legolas for a while each day, would you?" Thranduil asked, "It's kind of hard taking care of him alone with work and all."  
"Of course I'll do it!" she replied, looking up at him.  
"Thank you so much!" Thranduil sighed in relief.  
"When can I see him?" she asked.  
"As long as you're feeling all right, you can go any time you want," Blainieal told her.  
"I would like to go see him now, please," she announced.  
So Thranduil helped her off the bed and Blainieal handed her a lovely velvet maroon dress that went down to her feet and had gold trim. She slipped it on and found that it went very well with her jewelry. Once she was fully dressed they headed down towards Legolas's room. Alandriel still had a limp so Thranduil and Blainieal had to help her a bit. When they got there Thranduil opened the door. He went over and picked up Legolas.  
"Are you up to visitors?" he asked.  
The one month old baby made a short "hmm" noise. Thranduil smiled and Blainieal and Alandriel came inside. Thranduil did a little dance around the room and Legolas laughed.  
"How's my boy?" Thranduil asked, flying Legolas in the air.  
Legolas giggled and laughed. When he saw the visitors he stared and then reached out to grab them. They were too far away so Legolas only grabbed air. He giggled some more and Thranduil laughed at his son's antics as he brought him towards Alandriel and Blainieal.  
"Do you want to hold him?" Thranduil asked Alandriel.  
"Sure, I'd love to!" she answered.  
Thranduil carefully handed Legolas to Alandriel. Legolas stared at her with curious eyes. Then Legolas touched Alandriel's face.  
"Hello! You're such a cute baby!" she cooed.  
Legolas looked at his dad and then back at Alandriel. Then he looked at Blainieal.  
"Oo!" he went and everyone laughed.  
Thranduil then took Legolas and went to get his bottle. Once he got the bottle, he filled it up with milk and sat down.  
Thranduil let Legolas drink the milk. As Legolas was looking at everyone he all of a sudden went limp.  
"Legolas!" Thranduil shrieked.  
Blainieal rushed over and took Legolas. She then rushed towards the healing chambers and got to work on trying to heal him. Thranduil quickly put the milk on the chair and followed. Once there he paced back and forth outside the door. Alandriel sat down a on a chair near him, staring at the floor in shock. 


	4. Piosoned and Envelopes

A/n: Caliene's thoughts are in ^...^ _____________________________________________________________  
Blainieal came out of the room and motioned for them to come in. They stepped in the room and once Thranduil saw Legolas lying there motionless he rushed over to his side. Alandriel slowly sat down on a chair near the bed.  
"What's wrong with him?!" Thranduil demanded to know.  
"He was poisoned," Blainieal sighed, "May I see the milk you gave him?"  
"Yes, of course," Thranduil replied, dazed.  
He got up and quickly headed down the colorful hallway to Legolas's bedroom. He slowly opened the door and went to the chair where he had left the milk carton and bottle. He picked up the milk carton and looked around. He was just about to leave when something caught his eye. He looked closer and saw that it was a folded piece of paper. Thranduil picked it up and unfolded it. It read:  
Be careful what you do; be careful what you say, for I know your every move ever single day.  
Yours truly,  
Oh, yeah, you don't know my name yet!  
This frightened Thranduil greatly. Someone out there knew his every move and now wanted his son dead. And he didn't even have any clue of who it was. His mind raced and he ran out the door.  
All of a sudden an arrow shot towards his head but missed by a fraction of an inch. Another one flew at him and then another. Up ahead, Thranduil saw Caliene, one of his guards.  
"Caliene! Help! I'm get shot at!" he yelled.  
Caliene darted towards Thranduil and got out his bow. Thranduil suddenly felt dizzy but shook the feeling away. Another arrow flew and Caliene found where they were coming from. He shot four times and heard a yell of pain. Caliene ran forward and pulled an elf out of the bushes. He gasped and almost let go of the elf.  
"My lord, it's Burweilei!" Caliene exclaimed.  
Thranduil had fired him for intolerably irrational behavior. Caliene picked up Burweilei's body and followed Thranduil to the healing chamber. Thranduil was sure that they could help Legolas with the three pieces of evidence they had.  
Once they got there they opened the door and walked in. Thranduil started feeling dizzy and weak again and this time he collapsed on the ground and passed out. Alandriel gasped and Blainieal rushed to Thranduil's side to check his pulse.  
"What happened?" she asked.  
"He got shot at by Burweilei," he replied, hauling Burweilei off his shoulder and onto the floor.  
Blainieal looked at Thranduil and saw no obvious wounds. Caliene flipped Thranduil on his stomach on a hunch and found a slight gash across his back from where an arrow must have skimmed him. Blainieal tended to the cut while Alandriel took the items from his hands. She read the note in silence and then gasped.  
"There is a note that Thranduil carried in," she explained to them when they stared at her, "It says: Be careful what you do, be careful what you say, for I know your every move every single day."  
"Oh, Elbereth! Does that mean there are spies all around the castle?!" Blainieal cried.  
"I guess so. I'll set up an extra strong watch system with the guards so nothing like this happens again," Caliene announced.  
"Caliene, could you please take the milk down to Ruvio in the research lab to test it for poison?" Blainieal asked.  
"Of course, but first I'll help you move the bodies to the beds," he replied.  
Caliene took the milk and left. Blainieal and Alandriel sat there in silence, thinking about the letter. All of a sudden they heard a noise behind them and Alandriel spun around and simultaneously pulled out her knife which she never takes off. Out of the corner of her eyes as she was spinning she saw that Burweilei had gotten a knife out. As soon as she was totally turned around, Burweilei was too surprised to do anything, she stabbed him in the leg to distract him but not kill him. Then, while he was focused on his leg, she hit him over the head with the hilt of the knife. She didn't want him dead because they would need to interrogate him later.  
"How long until he wakes up again?" Blainieal asked in a shaky voice.  
"A couple of hours," Alandriel informed her, "Could you get me three to four ropes? They have to be strong."  
"Of course," she nodded and left the room.  
Alandriel carefully dislodged her knife from Burweilei and took it over to the sink. She washed all the blood off of it and put it back in its sheath. She got some healing herbs and some bandages and tended to Burweilei's wounds. Once Blainieal returned with the ropes they carefully but firmly tied Burweilei up.  
Once they were done they went to check on Thranduil and Legolas. They had gotten a high fever and had raspy breathing. Both had the same kind of poisoning.  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Alandriel slowly got up and opened it. She stepped aside and Caliene walked in with a grim face.  
"Well?! What is it?!" Alandriel cried.  
"Nothing, the milk is not poisoned," he sighed.  
Alandriel examined his face with searching eyes and exclaimed, "Well something must have caused this! ...... I've got it! If it wasn't the milk, it must have been on the bottle!"  
Alandriel raced out with Caliene following right on her tail. Blainieal stayed behind to watch Legolas and Thranduil. When Alandriel reached Legolas's room she barged in and looked around for the bottle. It wasn't anywhere to be seen! She looked at the table, hoping it would be there but instead she saw a green envelope. She slowly went over and picked it up. It read:  
So, you finally thought of testing the bottle! I was beginning to think you'd never come! Well, I have some bad news, though, you're too late! I already have it!  
Sincerely,  
I forgot; you still don't know my name yet!  
"Oh, no. What are we going to do now?" she moaned.  
"I don't know. Maybe there is something else with the poison that we could use," Caliene asked.  
"Well...what about the arrows? They must have had poison on it for it to poison King Thranduil!" Alandriel figured.  
She dashed out of the room again and searched the ground for the arrows that were shot. She suddenly realized that they must have been collected, too, because they were gone. Alandriel sighed and hung her head.  
  
"Did Burweilei still have arrows left when you brought him back?" she asked.  
After a moment of silence Caliene answered, "Yes."  
"Let's go, then!" she cried, running down the hall.  
^Elbereth, she runs fast and takes off just as fast! ^  
They rushed down the hall and burst through the door. Alandriel stopped dead in her tracks and Caliene almost ran into her. Confused at her abrupt stop, he peered around Alandriel to look into the room. What he saw shocked him: Blainieal was hog tied on the floor, everything had been thrown about on the ground, and Burweilei was gone!  
Alandriel finally came to her senses and rushed over to Blainieal. She pulled out her knife and carefully cut her bonds to find that she had rope burns from being tied up so tightly. Alandriel gently rubbed Blainieal's arm but she groaned and pulled away. Alandriel then ripped her healer dress off to find big black, blue, and purple bruises all over her body.  
"Caliene, get me that medicine bag. Now, Blainieal, tell me what happened," Alandriel whispered.  
"They barged in and grabbed me. They tied me up and started kicking and punching me. Then they threw me on the ground and wrecked everything in the room. They took Burweilei and left," she mumbled.  
Alandriel got out the herbs she needed and put them on Blainieal. She then wrapped her in bandages and put fresh clothes on her. Alandriel then picked her up and put her on the bed. On the bed she saw a third envelope. She picked it up and read it aloud.  
"It says: 'I thought you'd never think of it and come back. What took you so long? Anyway, just to let you know, the poison gives a very slow and painful death. They are deteriorating at this very moment. If you don't hurry, they will die. Sincerely, you still don't know who!'" she read.  
"We've failed them," Caliene sighed.  
"No, not yet," she told him angrily. 


	5. Determined Royalty

A/n: Beraid is Idy imladris's. ____________________________________________________________  
"Get the finest elves you got, you can even bring some of your good, skilled friends that are men! Get anyone that is really good at tracking, fighting, archery, strategy, even healing. Let's bring Beraid... and maybe Blainieal if she wants. Add anyone else you think is needed. Have them be ready by morning," Alandriel ordered Valandil.  
Valandil nodded and commented, "You must have been trained as a guard!"  
"Actually, I was. I was trained in healing, archery, tracking, carpentry, and basically anything you'd ever need to know, not to brag," she informed him.  
Valandil stopped in his tracks. They had been walking to Alandriel's chamber. Valandil was stunned. He never thought anyone could know all that stuff and be really good at every single one of them, too. He stuttered, "I had no idea you could do all those things! That's truly amazing! It must have taken a long time to learn all that stuff!"  
"Well I don't know healing and there are some I can do better than others," he told her.  
"Well, enough talk, you need to assemble your men," she ordered.  
Valandil nodded and left. Alandriel went into her room and got out a silver bundle that she had brought with her. She carefully unfolded it and inside was the finest silver mithril, extremely strong, gold armor plates for her arms, legs, and for her abdomen that had curves and swirls on it, and a strong and sturdy helmet with a long purple feather. It also held her finest sword that was extra long and had beautiful swirl engravements all the way down the blade and a leather bound hilt with the leather strips wound slanted so they made the shapes of diamonds. There was also one knife with gold designs on the blade and two daggers. She then took out her bow which was the best one she had and set it down on the bed next to the rest of the stuff. Then she took out fine, long, slender, silver wood (which was the same kind of wood her bow was made of), some feathers, her carving knife, and some arrow heads. She brought her materials to the table and sat down with a piece of wood in one hand and the carving knife in the other. She carefully shaped the perfect arrow and then with extreme carefulness etched out amazingly fine designs.  
When she was done carving she took out some of the feathers and carefully put them on the end. Alandriel then picked up one of the arrow heads and put it at the top. When she had finished the arrow she took a look at it and it was absolutely perfect with not even the slightest mistake. She did the same with each and every one of the pieces of wood until they all were flaw-free, beautiful arrows. Each one was exactly like the first. By the time she had finished all of them it was almost ten o'clock (10:00) and her eyes were blood shot. She got up and put her stuff away and then undressed and got into light-blue, silk bed clothes. She sighed and went to bed and fell into a deep sleep. *************************************************************  
(Whet was that?!)  
Alandreil shot up and quickly lit a candle. She looked around and saw Valandil poking his head in. She sighed in relief.  
"What time is it?" Alandriel asked.  
"It's morning, miss. Time to go," he answered.  
"Right, do you have your troops assembled?" she asked.  
"Yes ma'am," he replied.  
"Good, do you have enough equipment for all of them?" she wondered.  
"Yes, they are all ready now," he replied.  
"Okay, I'll only be a minute," she told him.  
He nodded and left the room. Alandriel went to the equipment she laid out the night before. She first got into her under-armor and then put on the mithril. Then she put on the armor plates and put her sword, daggers, and knife into their sheaths. The sword's sheath was light blue and had rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds in the diamond shape all down the sheath in a straight line. She slipped the sheaths to the belt around her waist. Next she strapped the arrow pouch to her back and hung the bow on it, too. Then she got out her medicine pouch and strapped it to her belt in the front.  
Alandriel grabbed her helmet and walked out of the room. Outside was a large group of elves and men, about thirty. They all looked stunned at her once they saw her.  
"What, you've never seen a she-elf dressed in armor?" she teased.  
Well, it's not that, it's what quality and beauty they are, my lady," an elf spoke.  
Valandil turned to the elf and ask questioningly, "What do you mean, 'my lady'?"  
"She didn't tell you?" he asked confused.  
"No, I didn't. I didn't think it was necessary or that it mattered," Alandriel butted in.  
"Tell me what?" Valandil pursued.  
Alandriel sighed and confessed, "I am Galadriel's granddaughter, so that makes me royal."  
Valandil's jaw dropped when he heard this. He couldn't find the words to say. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. He was totally shocked at the news.  
At long last he spoke, "Well, it is an honor to be working with you, my lady Alandriel."  
"Just call me Alandriel," she requested nicely, "Now, if we are all done chatting, we have a royal family to save!"  
Everyone shouted in agreement until a voice rang out, "WAIT!" everyone quieted, "We should take the trackers out first to scout around. It will go faster that way because they don't have armor on so they can move better. We should also take maybe two fighters in case of an attack. Once we are done scouting we should send out archers to shoot at the enemy. Then we can go out with the rest of the fighters and fight face to face with the armor."  
"Magnificent! It may need some minor adjustments, though. Come forward and tell me your name," Alandriel smiled.  
A young woman and her brother stepped forward, "I'm Kendra and this is my twin, Malachei. We have been talking over this strategy since Valandil brought us here."  
"I thank you for your help. What do you do best?" she asked.  
"I'm really good at tracking, archery, and I do strategic and battle plans with my brother really well. I can do sword fighting but I'm not as good at it as Malachei," Kendra informed her.  
"I'm really good at fist fighting and sword fighting. I can do archery and tracking but not as well as Kendra," Malachei replied.  
Alandriel was shocked that they knew how to do all that stuff really well when they weren't even elves so she asked, "I would like it if you'd accompany me and be at my side through this thing. You see, I can do all the stuff you can and more with perfection but it will be even better to have three great minds, four including Valandil. So, would you?"  
"Of course! It would be a pleasure!" they accepted, bowing.  
"Okay then, all the trackers come forward!" she ordered.  
Seven came forward, including Kendra. Four were elves and three were men. All were eager for instructions.  
"Get into dark green and brown clothes. Bring only what you think is necessary. Malachei, I want you to come, too, but you should also wear forest colors. I want your skills with fighting to help me with enemies if they attack. The rest of you, stay and practice in the courtyard with Valandil!" she ordered, "Let's go!"  
Everyone left and Alandriel went into her bedchamber. She carefully undressed and put her things away. She then got on a forest green tunic and brown tights. She took her belt and put it on. She then hooked the sword and daggers and knives to the belt and strapped the bow and arrows to her back. Then she slipped on a cloak from Lothlórien and then put on her brown shoes. She had a feeling she was forgetting something and then decided that she might need her carving knife so she took it and went out the door. Malachei, Kendra, and the other six were out there waiting for her outside.  
"We'll start by looking near where we found Burweilei because he must have left foot prints," she instructed.  
They went to the bushes where he was hiding and immediately found footprints. Only, one thing startled and confused Alandriel, not all the footprints were old! 


	6. Full of Danger

"Come hear! There are footprints made this morning!" Alandriel cried.  
Everyone rushed over to her and saw the freshly made footprints. Kendra and Alandriel bent down to study them more carefully. Then they realized that there were not only just two different footprints, but three!  
"Three people have been here in the past four days. All going in the same directions," Kendra stood up, "In the most resent set there are traces of blood."  
"Let's go, then!" Alandriel ordered.  
She followed the footprints, making sure not to ruin them. Everyone trailed after her with the same carefulness. Alandriel stepped in a pile of leaves and suddenly felt something sharp latch on to her foot. She quickly grabbed her foot and keeled over in pain. She looked and saw that she had stepped in a hidden bear trap. It had gone pretty deep, too, but she was able to pull it apart and get her foot out. She looked for her medicine bag but then she realized that she forgot it!  
"By the valar, why didn't I remember my medicine bag?!" Alandriel moaned, "Kendra, go off the path and find some buckleberry leaves for me. Be careful of hidden traps and dangers."  
Kendra nodded and disappeared into the side of the path. Everyone stood around waiting in silence. Alandriel looked around and sighed to herself.  
(I hate being injured! It makes you feel way too helpless and useless and I absolutely hate that feeling!)  
"What are you all standing around for?! We came here to scout around and that's what we're going to do! Get moving, Kendra and I will be fine!" she ordered at last.  
They hesitated but then Alandriel yelled at them to go on so they reluctantly went ahead. Malachei was leading in case anything happened. Alandriel rested her head and waited for Kendra to return. ************************************************************* (A/n: Kendra's thoughts are in --...--)  
--Yes! I found it!--  
Kendra sighed and turned around. She screamed at the top of her lungs. There was a giant spider right in front of her!  
"HELP! GIANT SPIDER! HELP!" she screamed. ***********************************************************  
(What's that? Did I hear someone screaming?!)  
Alandriel shot, ignoring the pain from getting up too fast after she lost all that blood, and ran into the woods where Kendra had gone. All she could think of was Kendra injured or dying on the ground. It would be all her fault if Kendra was hurt because she was the one who left the medicine bag and got hurt and sent Kendra into the forest.  
"I'm coming!" Alandriel called, "Where are you?"  
Over here!" Kendra screamed in a very urgent and terrified voice, "HURRY!"  
Alandriel raced to where the screaming was coming from, trying so hard to not let her injured foot slow her. She drew her sword and when she got there she saw a very terrified Kendra trying to fight off an enormous giant spider with a rotting stick! It was obvious that she wasn't doing so well, too.  
"Kendra, catch!" Alandriel called, tossing her longest dagger in it's sheath to her.  
Kendra caught it and quickly unsheathed it. Then she jabbed it into the spider as Alandriel came up from behind and sliced it in two. Kendra shrank back to the tree, shaking and starring at the spider in disbelief. Alandriel hobbled over to Kendra as best she could with her foot now throbbing from running and put her cloak around her. Then she took some of the herbs and put them on the wounds. She then ripped part of her tunic off and wrapped it around her ankle where she got hurt so the herbs would stay in place.  
"Are you feeling better?" Alandriel asked.  
Kendra nodded her head and Alandriel hopped up on her good leg and put one hand on a tree. With the other hand she slowly lifted Kendra up, almost toppling over in the process. They started to walk and by the time the reached the path, Kendra was fully recovered from shock and was helping Alandriel walk.  
"We'll stop here for a bit," Alandriel decided.  
Alandriel sat down slowly and took out her carving knife. She looked around then spotted a nice, small, sturdy tree and began chopping at it. Then she began carving and cutting the wood and when she was done she slipped the wood that was now shaped as a box like thing on her injured foot. Kendra looked at her questioningly.  
"It's a splint to help support my foot," Alandriel explained.  
Kendra nodded and helped her up. Alandriel then whistled a melodic song and after a while a gorgeous gray horse covered with lots of tiny white and black speckles. He was running like no other horse Kendra had ever seen or heard of. The stallion had no saddle nor bridle.  
"Hey big fella! How are you, Faiadin? I see you escaped that stall in the king's stables!" Alandriel laughed, and then turned to Kendra, "I never ride him with a bridle or saddle and I never stable him. In return he always stays faithful to me and always comes back to me when I call."  
She jumped up on Faiadin with a renewed strength and motioned for Kendra to do the same saying, "They're probably really far ahead, and we will catch up to them faster if we ride."  
Alandriel clicked her tongue and they went forward. After a while the brush got thick and the horse slow. Then all of a sudden Faiadin reared and sent the two of them flying in the air. Kendra fell unconscious as soon as she hit but Alandriel stayed conscious just long enough to see Faiadin run off the path. *************************************************************  
One of the elves lifted his head and breathed, "Yrchs! A lot, along with......goblins!"  
Everyone raised there heads in alarm and one of the men asked, "Don't goblins only live in the mountains?"  
"Most of the time, the rarely come out. That's why it's so alarming," the elf answered.  
"They are getting closer," another elf observed, "We should go back to find Alandriel and Kendra before it's too late."  
So they agreed to go back and then return later when it was safer. As they turned to go arrows started to fly at them. They quickly jolted forward to escape them while they took out there bows and started to shoot. All of a sudden they fell into a large pit. The pit was very deep and not even the elves could get out.  
"Is everyone here?" Malachei asked.  
"No, Corayach isn't, but he didn't get shot down before we fell in here. He must have avoided falling in the pit somehow," an elf spoke after looking around at everyone.  
"Let's hope he's alright and that he can warn the other two," Malachei sighed. *************************************************************  
Alandriel opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. She had a pounding headache and couldn't remember what happened. She sat up and looked around. She spotted Kendra and it all suddenly flooded back to her.  
"Kendra, wake up!" Alandriel nudged Kendra.  
Kendra groaned and opened her eyes and asked, "Are you okay?"  
"Yes, how about you?" Alandriel asked.  
"Just a bit achy," she sighed.  
Just then they heard someone running. Alandriel drew her sword and got up. An elf burst into sight, panting.  
"Get up, now!" Corayach panted.  
Alandriel asked in alarm, "What's wrong? What happened?"  
"Yrchs and goblins attacked. No one's dead or injured but they fell in a really deep pit. We must go and get help!" he cried.  
"Then let's go!" Alandriel ordered, pulling Kendra up. So they started to run back down the path to the castle. 


End file.
